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At the turn of the century, Saint-Pierre was a flourishing port city, attractively located beneath Martinique's highest mountain, Mont Pelée. In the spring of 1902, sulphurous steam vents on the mountain began emitting gases, and a crater lake began to fill with boiling water. Authorities dismissed it all as the normal cycle of the volcano, having experienced periods of activity in the past without dire consequences. But in late spring the crater lake broke and spilled down the mountainside, burying a plantation and its workers in boiling mud. Soon after, the volcano spewed a shower of ash onto Saint-Pierre. Until this point, the volcanic activity had largely been seen as a curiosity, but now the citizens of the city became apprehensive. To assuage their fears and prevent what was considered to be an unnecessary evacuation, the governor of Martinique brought his own family to live in the city. |